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History information for West Deeping and places above it in the hierarchy

West Deeping

From the Stamford Mercury newspaper, the week of 6 Jul 2001:

"Blink and you would miss West Deeping, which would be a pity. Although this tiny village may have less than a 100 homes it has a fascinating history. West Deeping is little more than a main Road- the old Roman causeway -Ling Street. There has been a settlement in West Deeping since prehistoric times and it is also recorded in the Doomsday book.

In 1841, records show that there were no fewer than 42 agricultural labourers living in the village along with three shoemakers, a tailor, dressmaker, butcher, baker, a couple of wheelwrights and carpenters, two grocers, millers and four stone mason! Forty years later there was still a similar number of trades' people and near to the Red Lion pub - one of three in the village at the time - was the post office and a grocers shop.

Ten years on again, and there was still the butcher, blacksmith, millers, shoemakers and a laundress. The general store keeper also baked bread and kept the post office; the number of agricultural labourers was declining. The businesses gradually closed and even the village store and post office shut up shop in 1991. Now residents either shop in nearby Stamford or Market Deeping or rely on regular visits from mobile produce sellers.

At the spiritual heart of the village is St Andrew's Church that dates back at least 750 years.

If you want to know more on this West Deeping, you may be interested to know that a local villager, Virginia Hall has just published a book that she has spent five years researching called " A portrait of West Deeping". She is selling the book, according to the article, from her home at Rose cottage, King Street, West Deeping at a cost of £9.00.

Brian GREEN has a photograph of Maxey Mill on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2007.

Paul BRAGG has a photograph of The Red Lion Inn on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2009.

Here are the proprietors of The Red Lion shown in various Directories:

YearPerson
1842William GOODLEY, vict.
1868William CHERRY, farmer
1872William CHERRY, vict.
1882Charles SWIFT, vict.
1900Alfred Wortley BRIGHTMAN
1913Frederick THORPE
1919Robert GOODLIFFE
1930Robert GOODLIFFE

Lincolnshire

  • You may want to find the book "The History of the County of Lincoln" by ALLEN, publ. 1834. Found online at Archive.Org.
     
  • Here's a handy website of British history which you can search by location.
     
  • The Black Death or Plague swept through Lincolnshire (and all of western Europe) in 1680 through 1690.
     
  • All of England suffered from a "monster" storm in November of 1703 that killed a reported 8,000 people. Seaside villages suffered greatly and their church and civil records may have been lost.
     
  • In a similar storm in early 1953 flooding occurred from Mablethorpe to Skegness, reaching as far as 2 miles inland.
     
  • Liz DAVIES offers a list of names from the Agricultural Workers Revolt of 1872 and a list of Farmers against the Unions of 1874. Her Great Grandfather had an employer who found him reading a newspaper one day. He was asked "Can you read then, Pennell?" "Yes, sir," was the reply. "Then you can pack your bags and be off. We don't want your sort here."
     
  • For reasons that are buried in ancient history, folks who were born in Lincolnshire are called Yellow Bellies. No one knows for sure, but come find a list of possibilities.
     
  • What was life like back in the "good old days"? You might try to find a copy of "Illustrated Journeys of Celia Fiennes," written in 1698. Part 3 covers her trip through East Anglia. Another source is H. E. Bates, who began to write a regular column for "Country Life" (published by Penguin) just before WW2. Beware the authors who paint rosy pictures of the landed gentry and their great estates.
     
  • The book "Life As We Have Known It," Margaret Llewelyn DAVIES, reprinted by Virago in 1977 is a selection of notes written by women around WW1, describing their lives. The chapter by Mrs. Burrows - "A childhood in the Fens 1850-1860", would shatter all of one's illusions about how life in the country really was. She left school at 8 years of age, unable to read or write. She worked 14 hours in the fields with other children younger than her. The ganger had a whip, which "he did not forget to use". They were required to walk at least 2 miles and sometimes around five miles to reach a particular field, and then home again in the evening. (Thank you, Adrian HEDGECOY)
     
  • The Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 might have your village listed in its Lincolnshire section.
     
  • The "big invention" of the 1800s was the steam engine and the impact it had on agriculture that century. It not only brought the railways, but also steam engines now replaced "ag labs" in the fields and replaced windmills for draining the Fens and pumping water. Oddly, many men found work in the coal mines to supply fuel for these "beasts", while others worked in the iron pits around Scunthorpe because of the demand for iron and steel.
     
  • "The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song associated with the county of Lincolnshire, and dealing with the joys of poaching. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire and it is the quick march of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. Find out more at Wikipedia
     

England

  • England - History - links and information.

UK and Ireland

  • UK & Ireland - History - links and information.